Posted on September 18, 2026 View all news
The Greater Chicago Food Depository, in partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago, released the 2026 Hunger in Chicago Report earlier this week. In their announcement, they highlighted that “food insecurity in Chicago is widespread, urgent, and worsening”.
Key finding from the report include:
– 1 in 3 household are food insecure, meaning they don’t have consistent access to enough food.
– 1 in 2 families with children are especially vulnerable.
– 56% of food insecure household have working adults but still cannot afford enough food and other living costs.
– 31% of Chicagoans shared they have skipped, reduced, or delayed paying other bills or purchasing medication so they could afford food.
“Since the devastating cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) were enacted in July 2025, SNAP enrollment in Cook County decreased by 23% between July 2025 and June 2026. At a time when families need help with navigating elevated food prices, nearly 196,000 neighbors have lost access to our nation’s most important anti-hunger program compared to a year ago.”
Read the full report here.
